Since 1999, Take Action has been pairing charity and music. As the 2009 Take Action Tour takes off, guitarist Dave Melillo of headliner Cute Is What We Aim For gave Bethany a call to talk about the tour and the band.
Bethany, PopWreckoning: So you guys are getting ready to go out on the Take Action Tour. I noticed on your website you guys also list out favorite charities. Why is this tour important to you and why is it important to encourage your fans to get involved with charities?
Dave Melillo, Cute Is What We Aim For: I think we all take our fair share from the world and society. We’re kind of like waste machines if you think about it: just consuming and consuming. So for us, especially being on a bus, I feel like we take a lot. A chance to give back is something that’s really valuable. The moment we got offered [the Take Action Tour], we really jumped on it.
I think karma is something that people don’t pay attention to a lot and it plays a big role in your life and everything that happens. That’s what it’s about. I think people need to be more aware, especially in times of trouble and stuff, to keep doing good things. Keep everyone happy and positive. That’s really what we need in this country right now and in the world.
PW: Yeah. So on this tour are you going to be joined again by Clark Spurlock?
DM: Yeah, yes. He’s hanging out with us for this tour. He’s a really good friend of all ours and he is fun to be with, so we’re glad to have him.
PW: He used to tour with you when you did your solo stuff, right?
DM: Yeah. We’ve been friends for a really long time, like since the 7th grade. We used to, well I wrote my first song ever with Clark. We were just in his bedroom working on it for a 7th grade English project. That is kind of how I got into other things, so it is really cool to have him around and to have a longtime friend with you on the road.
PW: Will Michael [Lasaponara] be your drummer again on this tour?
DM: Yes, Mikey will play drums on this tour as well.
PW: Is he just a temporary member or are you guys looking to add him officially to the band?
DM: Mikey is temporary in his position. We’ve been going through a lot this year with Tom [Falcone] and everything. We’re just happy with where it’s at right now. Shaant [Hacikyan], Jeff [Czum] and I get along really, really well and our dynamic works really, really well. So we’re not really going to give an offer to anyone unless it is really makes sense, you know? Because it has happened in the past and rotating members is not something that we want to have ever again. The next time we ask someone to be in the band, it is going to be someone who is 100% about it for the rest of the duration of the band; however long that maybe.
PW: Now you were one of the later additions to the band. Did you have to do any sort of adapting because Shaant and Jeff have known each other from the beginning?
DM: Shaant and Jeff have known each other through middle and high school, I would say. I met them not shortly after in ’05. We had been touring together and we became friends during that tour. So we ended up touring some more after that when I was doing my own thing. So it wasn’t really a big transition because we had that friendship there and I really liked the guys and everything they did. It was a pretty smooth transition.
PW: Cool. On the sophomore album Rotation, you guys worked with producer John Feldmann. I heard that he had you guys do some crazy things in the studio. I read somewhere that you had to punch Shaant? Would you like to elaborate on what that was?
DM: John’s whole thing was that he wanted to capture real moments, especially vocally. So I would be sitting in the studio, watching him track Shaant and then he’d send me in there to punch him or push him. I can’t really do it, so I’d just go in there and wind up messing awkwardly with Shaant. He’d just wind up laughing. We have a lot of those moments caught on tape. There are a lot of human samples. We’d use things like clicks and snaps and different sounds from our body to make a back beat to the song. I thought that was really cool and different. We tried to use as many sound effects from real world things as we could to add on to the album. That was the whole thing: he wanted our personality in it. We really appreciated that and that’s a big part of the reason why the album came out as well as it did.
PW: Yeah, I think the personality shows. Now for you that was your first album with a group. How was it working with a group of guys as opposed to doing it on your own with the solo stuff that you had been doing in the past?
DM: It is great to work with a group of people because if you’re short on ideas, then I’d just turn to Jeff and Jeff has the riff for it, you know? If Shaant has lyrics, he comes to one of us and we put music to it. There’s a big pool to draw from as opposed to if you’re doing everything by yourself. Then you only have yourself to draw from.
I think any inspiration you have around you, it’s just really awesome to have people that specialize in those areas. To have someone do that and is really good at that, it just comes together into a something that I’m proud of.
PW: How important is Fueled by Ramen toward your recording process?
DM: Fueled by Ramen is pivotal. They were there from the beginning and they really gave us direction. They picked songs that they thought were the best and those were the ones that we really focused on and tried to nail down earliest and produce the most. They were very supportive of us. So yeah, they played a pivotal role in everything we do.
PW: It always seemed to me that Fueled by Ramen was more like a family than a record label.
DM: Definitely.
PW: I know that you worked with Drive Thru Records. Is it different or has Drive Thru been similar to your experience with Fueled by Ramen?
DM: The difference between Fueled by Ramen and Drive Thru and other labels that preach a family vibe is that Fueled by Ramen actually goes through with it. They really do care about the bands on their label and they go above and beyond to work for you. So they get together and when you meet them face to face, they’re more than just people that work with you. They’re your friends. You go hang out with them after work and it wouldn’t be weird. Every label, every company to some extent wants to preach a family vibe and bring something to the table for everyone working there. I think Fueled by Ramen really facilitates it as opposed to other labels.
PW: For sure. Since you are in Cute Is What We Aim For now, have you stopped doing your solo stuff or are you still kind of working on that?
DM: I’m just kind of leaning to whatever happens, happens. “Every day is a winding road” says Sheryl Crow. Haha. I’m kind of following that mantra. I’m just taking everything as it comes. I’m always writing, so whether it gets used for the band or my own stuff, it just depends on the timing. I guess that’s not a very solid answer, but I don’t have a solid answer in my head.
PW: That’s alright. Just going with the flow is cool. Now I know on Cute’s album the lyrics were kind of improvised, but you just said you’re always writing. For a third album would it be more of the go-with-the-flow improvised or is it something that you guys have already started working on?
DM: I think when we say we’re always writing, everyone on their own is always coming up with little ideas and writing that stuff. When you get to the studio, that’s when everything becomes a lot more real and that’s when you realize what’s going on. That’s when you’re forced to put everything together and that’s why it all comes together then. Everything that we do in this band is pretty spontaneous and it is like catching a vibe and keeping it real. So it’s going to be the same vibe.
We went to Rotation with ideas and we’re going to do the same thing. We’ll go into this record with ideas and depend on ourselves, the vibe we’re in, and the producer to put it all together. That way it comes out the most truthful and you’re not forcing yourself to write a four minute pop song. If you do it that’s great, but you can come out with something even better.
PW: I know you’re a more recent addition to the band, but in your time, there have been some ups and downs. You mentioned some rough spots. What have you learned to make yourselves a healthier band and what would you recommend to other bands so they can stay together and stay strong?
DM: I think you have to really trust your bandmates and people around you. That’s just what you do or it will be hard to deal with people and they’ll come and go. Anyone in the music business or any business for that matter is going to try and take a little from you. So to reach that level of success, having that support system and having people around you that you really trust and having those duties is really important.
We have one of Shaant’s best friends on the road as the tour manager and one of my best friends is doing merch for us. To have those people around as a support system really makes it easier when shit hits the fan. Then you have people that have been there your whole life plus ourselves to help you through. Jeff, Shaant and I get along really and having that whole vibe, not just a business vibe is very important.
PW: Yeah. My last question is just a fun question. Since the Oscars are coming up, are there any movies you’re particularly excited about or rooting for this year?
DM: I love Batman [The Dark Knight], obviously. I thought that one was a really good movie. I know it’s not getting much love from the Oscars, but it should. I saw that Slumdog Millionaire movie and thought it was really, really good. At the opposite end of that spectrum, I saw Benjamin Button and thought that was equally horrible.
PW: Horrible?
DM: Well, OK, I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was horrible, but it is getting a lot of praise from the Oscars and I think it is just because Brad Pitt looks so good.
PW: No, I’d agree with you. I saw that movie and felt it was just one of those movies where they wanted me to think it was good and impressive, but it was just overdone.
DM: Yeah. It was inflated. It just proves that with all the nominations and stuff that it was kind of just a puff piece.
PW: I agree with that. Well that’s all I have. Thanks for talking with me.
DM: No, thank you.
Cute Is What We Aim For: website | myspace
First photo by: Andrew Zaeh
